RSNA News - March 2005

Letter to the Editor

To the editor:

The otherwise excellent article in the December RSNA News, "Radiologists Can Help Patients Avoid Homeland Security Crisis," did not address the subject of patient confidentiality and HIPAA compliance. It would be a violation of HIPAA if the only provision for verification of the treatment of a patient was a simple telephone call to a hospital administrator.

The patient must give consent for release of this information. The consent should be in writing. If no consent form is on file, any administrator releasing the information would be doing so without the patient's authorization. Perhaps the argument would be made that confidential patient information was released in the interest of national security, but the patient could contest that assertion.

Also, the hospital must confirm that the caller is who he says he is. The administrator cannot release confidential patient information to anyone who happens to call asking for it. Picture the celebrity patient who has received radioisotope therapy. Someone calls the hospital asking if Mr. Doe has been treated with I-131 for thyroid cancer. Do we want to confirm that to any caller? No, of course not. The identity of the caller should be confirmed and the patient's consent to release this information should be obtained and documented.

Gregory R. Weaver, M.D.
Chief, Department of Medical Imaging
Baptist Hospital
Nashville, Tenn.

RSNA News welcomes Letters to the Editor. Send your letter by mail to RSNA News, 820 Jorie Blvd., Oak Brook, IL 60523, by fax to (630) 571-7837, or by e-mail to . Please include your full name and telephone number. Letters may be edited for purposes of clarity and space.